Top 10 Halloween tricks and treats for dieters

Thursday

Oct 29, 2009 at 12:01 AM

Pumpkins are great for a lot more than making jack-o'-lanterns. One cup of mashed pumpkin has only 49 calories and is loaded with vitamin A in the form of beta-carotene. It also has nearly 3 grams of fiber and 564 milligrams of potassium. Pumpkin also contains vitamin C, lutein and zeaxanthin good for eye health), as well as iron and zinc.

Charles Stuart Platkin

1. Pumpkins

Pumpkins are great for a lot more than making jack-o'-lanterns. One cup of mashed pumpkin has only 49 calories and is loaded with vitamin A in the form of beta-carotene. It also has nearly 3 grams of fiber and 564 milligrams of potassium. Pumpkin also contains vitamin C, lutein and zeaxanthin good for eye health), as well as iron and zinc.

2. Pumpkin seeds

Pumpkin seeds are loaded with manganese, magnesium, iron, copper, vitamin K, zinc and protein. One ounce has 158 calories, 8.57 grams of protein, 1.7 grams of fiber and almost 25 percent of the recommend daily value for iron. Pumpkin seeds also have plant sterols that can help reduce the risk of heart disease and fight cancer. They are also a fantastic source of omega-3 essential fatty acids. Wash them, dry, and then toast them with garlic and onion powder and a bit of salt and pepper. They take about 30 to 40 minutes at about 300 degrees to toast.

3. Know what you're eating

Hershey's Fun Bar vs. Tootsie Rolls vs. Nestle Crunch: Each Hershey's "Fun" bar has about 75 calories. A Nestle Crunch mini-bar has 60 calories, and just three Tootsie Roll Midgees have 70 calories. What about those Hershey's Special Dark miniatures? They're each 38 calories. Pez vs. Smarties vs. Candy Corn: One 15-tablet) roll of Smarties has 25 calories and 25 grams of sugar. The candy corn has 150 calories for 20 pieces. That's 7.5 calories each — about the same as one almond, except that the almond is a nutrition powerhouse. One roll of Pez has 35 calories and 9 grams of sugar. And remember that many of these candies contain dyes that have been associated with hyperactivity in kids. Twizzlers vs. Peeps vs. Now and Later: Each Halloween-sized pack of Twizzlers has 140 calories — along with red dye number 40. For eight pumpkin Peeps 32 grams) the calorie cost is 110, with 26 grams of sugar about 6.5 tablespoons). The Now and Later has 40 calories in each small bar. Tootsie Roll Snack Bars vs. York Dark Chocolate-Covered Peppermint Patties: There is some misperception out there that York Peppermint Patties are healthy, but I'm not sure why. Each 13.3-gram patty has 50 calories and 9 grams of sugar. Tootsie Roll Snack Bars are also 50 calories each. Tootsie Pop vs. Charms Blow Pop with Gum) vs. Dum Dums: That's 60 calories for both the Blow Pop and the Tootsie Pop, and only 19.67 calories for the Dum Dum.

4. Burn it

When you go trick or treating, don't just sit in your car and drive your kids from house to house. Get out there and walk the walk. Expect to burn about 176 calories per hour during a casual stroll.

5. Healthy treats exist

Healthy treats that taste good really do exist. For instance, Ghirardelli 60 Percent Cacao Dark Chocolate Squares 10.75 grams each) have 55 calories, but they also have at least 0.75 grams fiber, 0.5 grams protein and loads of antioxidants.

And then there are Snackimals www.worldpantry.com) made with organic grains. I also like Pumpkin Seed Cheddar Dr. Krackers www.drkracker.com), which are made with organic whole-wheat flour. Eight crackers have 120 calories, 4 grams fiber and 6 grams protein. Along the same cracker lines there are also Mr. Krispers mrkrispers.elsstore.com/) and Mary's Gone Crackers Original Seed Cracker www.marysgonecrackers.com) — for 13 crackers you get 140 calories, 3 grams fiber and 3 grams protein.

Popchips www.popchips.com) are also tasty, and you get about 22 popped potato chips for 120 calories, almost double the number of fried or baked chips you'd get for the same number of calories.

6. Use the research

According to research done at Yale University and reported in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, children are just as likely to choose toys as candy on Halloween. For the study, seven households offered 284 trick or treaters between the ages of 3 and 14 a choice between comparably sized toys and candies. The results showed that the children were just as likely to choose the toys as the candy. How about these toys: pencils go to rootsandwingsco.blogspot.com/2009/09/pumpkin-pencil-topper-aka-non-candy.html for a way to make cute Halloween pencils), bubbles, play-dough, Silly Putty.

7. Swap it out

The kids are sorting through their take, and they're loaded with candy or, in other words, junk. Obviously one day with candy is not so bad, but now you're facing weeks of candy abuse. Why not offer to swap the candy for something bigger, maybe something the child has wanted for a long time? Sound far-fetched? Try it and you'll be amazed. I've seen it work several times firsthand.

8. Don't go too far out

Don't buy Halloween candy too far in advance; that way you'll have less time to eat it before you give it away!

9. Don't enjoy

Buy candy you don't really like so that you're not tempted to overindulge.

10. Fill up

Eat! Make sure to fill yourself up with a nutritious lunch or dinner before trick or treating so that you're less likely to dip into the candy bag.

Charles Stuart Platkin is a nutrition and public health advocate and founder of DietDetective.com.